Metropolitan Digest / LOS ANGELES COUNTY NEWS IN BRIEF

LOS ANGELES : Student Campus Drug Offenses Rise 46% in Year

The number of Los Angeles Unified School District students caught with drugs increased 46% during the summer of 1994, compared to the same period last year. Between July 1 and Sept. 30, 83 students were caught with drugs by school officials, compared to 57 during the same time last year.

District officials say some of the increase may stem from the fact that more junior and senior high students are attending year-round schools this year, which meet during the summer. But they also say that the increase mirrors a nationwide trend toward more drug use among teen-agers. Reports of marijuana and cocaine possession on Los Angeles Unified campuses have been increasing steadily over the past 18 months, officials said.

The school district crime report, released Thursday to board members, showed that overall campus offenses decreased 10%. Campus police took 1,835 crime reports this summer, compared to 2,046 last year.

Aside from the rise in drug offenses, assaults with deadly weapons rose 8% during the three-month period, from 40 last year to 43 this year. But weapons possessions decreased 8%, from 140 last year to 129 this year.

Of the 129 weapons seized by school police and administrators, 42 were guns, 51 were knives and 36 were other types of weapons, including screwdrivers.

Property crimes at school campuses dropped 13%, from 1,538 last year to 1,331 this year. Battery also declined 17%, from 84 cases last year to 70 this year.